Divining China’s Consumer Trends Through Advertising

The National People’s Congress will soon approve a five-year plan that aims to boost domestic consumption. Because so much media space is bought months in advance, advertising is a good indicator of future trends in China’s rapidly developing economy, and a good way to determine which industries will benefit from this consumption push. Executives Zhou Wei and Zhao Yihe from Charm Communications, the No. 1 buyer of prime-time advertising space on CCTV, will share their insights on developments in the advertising industry and what these indicate about wider consumer trends.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Zhao Yihe is Vice President of Market Research at Charm and heads the Market and Media Research Center. He has over 15 years of experience in the advertising industry, with extensive knowledge of consumer behavior studies, marketing strategy, media research and brand research. He is a featured lecturer at Tsinghua University’s MBA Programs and China’s 4A Association.

Zhou Wei has been the chief financial officer of Charm Communications since November 2009. He has previously held senior positions at Zhaopin Limited, which operates one of the largest online recruitment websites in China, Abax Global Capital, and Goldman Sachs. Mr. Zhou received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 2001.